


Raising Princess Beyonce (Shut up Stan, we're not calling him that)

by adognamedpetwentz



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Anyways, Bisexual Richie Tozier, F/M, Fluff, M/M, No Smut, Raising Hope AU, and bill sleeps in a tent in the laundry room, ben and bev are pretty much married, bev and ben and richie and bill all live together, but it gets emo, but she has dementia and lives in a nursing home, but thats whatever, eddie works at a grocery store, georgie shows up in a rather unusual way, i love this show so much lol, its bevs grandma's house, probably more tags in the future, probably out of character but im tryin to make it good, richie has a kid, richie is a (not very popular) stand-up comedian, so bev and her friends live there, well penelope is named after him, yay happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:21:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21923575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adognamedpetwentz/pseuds/adognamedpetwentz
Summary: Penelope sat back down at the table, lipstick freshly applied, “What’d I miss.”Before anyone got the chance to come up with something to say, Beverly stretched her arms and walked across the room, cigarette hanging out of her mouth. She picked up the TV and swung it, hitting squarely on the back of Penelope’s head. She set the television back onto the counter and flicked her cigarette onto the edge of the ashtray next to it. She exhaled the smoke, “Honey, call the police.”-or,Richie's one-night-stand leads to Beverly hitting someone with a TV, Ben calling the police, and Richie becoming a single father.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 28
Kudos: 55





	1. men are the toys in the game that you play

Richie tapped the steering wheel and bobbed his head slightly to the music.  _ Finally,  _ he thought,  _ a show where people clapped at the end. How could this night get any cooler? _

Then, as he stopped at a traffic light, a total babe starts banging on his window asking for help. He unlocked the doors to let her in his car. The light turned green as soon as she shut her door.

“Oh my God! You totally just saved my life!” She started laughing and looked over to Richie. He looked at her nervously, unsure of what he was supposed to do next. 

She starts again, “And you’re cute! My hero.”

Richie pulled into his driveway as she left hickies on his neck, her lipstick going everywhere.  _ Ew. I hope Beverly has some makeup remover.  _ Then he remembers that,  _ oh, a girl is in my lap and panting in my ear. _

Before he could think to find a condom or something, she had him fully reclined in the driver's seat of his 1994 Chrysler Concorde.

-

Richie woke up to the sound of his neighbor’s asshole dog barking at the mailman. The previous night’s events came to mind: first, the gig, second, the chick with the red lipstick. A smile snuck onto his face and all he wanted in that moment was to tell his friends all about it.

He walked into the house and saw Ben and Beverly sitting at the kitchen table, talking to the girl that provided him with one of the most legendary experiences he’d ever had in his dumpy old car (not that he had many of those nights to begin with).

She was talking to Ben animatedly, only Bev noticing at first. “Hey, Honey. We met your friend!”

Richie scratched sheepishly at the back of his neck. As soon as the other two saw him, however, the girl from last night shot up toward him with confidence, crashing her lips with his, sticking her tongue in his mouth aggressively.  _ Not the best feeling, but beggars can’t be choosers, I guess. _

“I’m going to go powder my nose. See you when I get back,” she winked at him as she walked down the hallway to the bathroom.

Beverly shouted after her, “If you’re going number two, you’ll need to flush twice!”

“Got it!” She called back.

Ben turned to Richie, “Nice job, man. She seems really great.”

“I don’t know, babe. Something is off,” Bev looked at Richie, “She thought I was your sister.”

“Bev! My soul! I’m hurt! Don’t sound so insulted.” They smiled at each other and ate their breakfast for a moment. Then Richie remembered to ask, “Hey, anyone catch her name?”

Ben looked at the morning news on the TV that was sitting on the counter. His eyebrows scrunched together slowly. He pointed to the screen, “I think her name’s Penelope.”

The others turned to the television, confused and watching intensely. The reporter on screen began, “Again, her main alliece is Joan Rossum, but her legal name is Penelope Winslow.” Her picture popped up as they transitioned to an on-site interview with a different reporter and another guy that looked like he was around Richie’s age.

“She kills her boyfriends. Two so far,” the newsman said. They heard the toilet flush once.

The guy next to him spat out, “She tried to choke me out with my shoelaces, so I started defending myself, throwing everything I could at her. She ran outside to a car sitting at a stop light, hitting the windows and eventually getting let in. I tried chasing after them, but they kept going faster, I had to stop. If you’re the one that picked her up, I’d get her an early Christmas gift. You’ll probably be gone by the time the presents go under the tree.”

They heard the toilet flush again as the first newscaster appeared again on screen, now jabbering about some football game.

Penelope sat back down at the table, lipstick freshly applied, “What’d I miss.”

Before anyone got the chance to come up with something to say, Beverly stretched her arms and walked across the room, cigarette hanging out of her mouth. She picked up the TV and swung it, hitting squarely on the back of Penelope’s head. She set the television back onto the counter and flicked her cigarette onto the edge of the ashtray next to it. She exhaled the smoke, “Honey, call the police.”


	2. calm down (I can't)

Eight Months Later

“We’re out of chewy chocolate chip cookies!” Beverly hollers from the kitchen.

Ben holds his finger to his nose and turns to Richie. “Damn it Ben. It’s not fair, you’re more nimble than me. You know that I have terrible hand-eye coordination,” Richie groaned. He shouted across the house, “I’ll get some in a little bit!”

The phone in the hall rang sharply and Bev picked it up.

“This is Beverly… Yeah, he is… Do you need--- uh huh… I’ll tell him.”

She hooked the telephone back onto the ringer before strutting into the living room, tossing Richie’s keys at him, “That was the prison Penelope is at. She wants to meet with you. And get those cookies and some other stuff from the grocery store on your way home. Stan and Bill are back from their trip later and they’ll be hungry.”

Richie squinted in thought, having only woken up twenty minutes ago, and agreed, “Fine, but I’m going to have to borrow some cash. Spent the last of it on beer two days ago.”

Bev took a few tens and a five out of her wallet, rolling her eyes, “Whatever. But don’t forget my cigarettes.”

She kissed Ben on the cheek and turned off the living room television.

Richie gasped, “Darling! What about me? Where’s my sugar?”

She laughed quietly and smacked a big, wet kiss to his cheek as well.

He wiped the spit off of his cheek and grabbed the cash from her hand. He walked backwards to the front door, talking to them as he went, “I’m going to the prison first, they probably just want to ask a question or two, close up her case - you know the whole murdered-a-couple-guys-thing! Don’t wait up!”

“Bring me my receipt so I can hold it against you the next time you have some money!” Beverly called, and Richie left the house.

-  
The guard led him to Penelope in the visiting room, “Good luck.”

Richie sat down in front of her, wide-eyed and confused.

“Hi, Sweetie! Did you miss me?” Penelope smiled with her shark-like teeth on display.

“Uh, yeah, sure. So, um, why did you, uh, call me here?”

She made a face as if to say what can you do, and shrugged, “Well the thing is, they need me to set arrangements for the baby. For when they… Yeek!” She slid her thumb across her neck in a slicing motion and chuckled.

Shellshocked, Richie questions, “Wha… Baby? Whose baby?”

“Ours silly!”

He only blinked at her.

“Don’t worry, Sweetie, it’s only in the case that I really do get executed, which they’ll never do. Not to the mother of a six-month old baby, anyways.”

The rest of the time spent at the jail was spent signing paperwork, which Richie did on autopilot, barely registering what was going on.

-

He went to the grocery store on the way home, getting what Beverly asked for. By the time he got back to the house, he was exhausted. He waved to Bill and Stan and made a b-line to his bed, flopping down face-first. What the fuck is going on.

-

When he woke up the next morning, he tried to convince himself that it was all just a dream,but he was still freaking out.

He sat down on the couch next to Stan, who was eating cheerios. Babies eat cheerios. Penelope is having my child. I can’t do this. Shit shit shit!

Stan looked at him with wide eyes and messy curls, still taking slow bites of his cereal as he asked, “You good, Rich?”

“No, not even a little bit.”

“Okay. Want to talk about it?” Stan gently spoke. 

“No.”

So Stan, being the great friend he always has been, turned on the TV and put a bird documentary on.

From the tent in the laundry room, Bill emerged at the sound of people talking, “What’s up guys?”

“Nothing,” Richie whimpered.

“Cool,” Bill said, not noticing Richie’s demeanor.

Not long after Bill got up, the others did as well, Ben clinging to Beverly like she was his favorite teddy bear. 

Richie did everything he could for several months to keep it all to himself. The baby, however, was still his, and Penelope was still going to be executed, and Richie still couldn’t comprehend any of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reddie shall come soon- when exposition is done :[].


	3. tiny tiny love

-

Beverly knew that something was going on. She always did. But when Richie called her crying, she was startled. He was calling from the payphone at the comedy club he performed at. He was definitely drunk and panicking and crying about a… belly? She had no clue what was going on.

She sent Ben to pick him up to be sure he got home alright. Then she got to thinking. _What has a belly? Santa Clause? Was he worried about Christmas?_ Granted, she had a pretty nice boxed-wine buzz going, so she wasn’t exactly thinking straight either.

She figured she could just ask him in the morning. So she went to bed. The next morning, however, she didn’t even think of it. Stan and Bill had missed so much while they were gone, and they just had to go garage saling before the city-wides were over.

Stan and Ben were looking at an antique china cabinet, admiring the craftsmanship, Bill was at the books, Bev was looking at Richie, and Richie was looking at the stacks of baby clothes.

Finally, Bev was starting to piece it all together. She walked over to the table he was standing at, “Rich?” She put a hand on his shoulder, softly saying, “Honey?”  
He glanced at her before looking back at the clothes, tears in his eyes. She gently took him into her arms. He would tell her when he was ready. She just had to trust that.

The thing about waiting for Richie to express his feelings on his own is that Richie does not express feelings on his own. And if he did, it was after holding it in as long as he could.

Beverly knew this, but frankly, she was afraid to know what was on his mind. She had never seen him look so scared before.

So when Richie came home with a baby a few months later, she was shocked, but not surprised.

-

“You have to put it up for adoption. Not trying to tell you how to live your life, dude, but this isn’t going to work. You don’t even have a job,” Beverly sighed. She loved babies and she loved Richie. She just didn’t know if he could handle this.

Bill nodded, “Yeah man, a baby is a lot of work. You don’t even have any of the stuff for it.”

Ben looked at Richie inquisitively, “How did you get it here?”

“I put him on a blanket in the backseat of the car and drove really slowly,” Richie responded, still not looking up from his baby. He’d been staring at him for an hour. He couldn’t believe that _he_ made _that_.

Bev shook her head, “Honey, I know he’s your baby, but maybe he’d be better off somewhere else?”

“I’ll get a real job, I’ll buy him baby stuff, I’ll take care of him,” Richie swore.

Bill turned to him, “He isn’t a pet. It’s gonna be super complicated. You’ll have to figure out insurance. Put your comedy on hold. Give him everything you have.”

Richie smiled as his son looked up at him and chewed his tiny fist. He nodded, “I know that. It’s worth it, though. I can handle everything.”

“What’s his name?” Stan wondered.

“Well, Penelope named him Princess Beyoncé, but I’m thinking of changing that.”

“Don’t you dare! That name is badass.”

Beverly groaned, “Rich, you don’t have any money! What are you going to buy his things with?”

Richie picked his son up, “I’ll just pawn some of my stuff! Come on. Let me show you. I’ll take care of him today. I can be a good dad. Right now, I’m going to straight to Loretta’s Pawn and getting whatever he needs. You guys can watch him for me-”

“No. You aren’t leaving him here. If you want to show how capable you are, you’re taking him with you,” Beverly said sternly.

“I don’t even have a car seat yet! I’m not driving him around again until he can be safe. I drove as slow as I could, but that blanket still moved around whenever I stopped.”

She shrugged, “You’re a dad now. Figure it out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reddie in the next chapter!


	4. overdressed and underprepared

Richie was pushing his baby in a shopping cart full of things for the pawn shop. They’d had it lying in the backyard for a few years. Stanley stole it from a parking lot when he was drunk in the summer after they’d all graduated high school. Ben liked to use it to grill on in the summer.

He was lost in his thoughts until someone started hollering at him.  _ Oh I’m at the grocery store now. Huh.  _

“Hey! Sir! Sir!”

Richie walked over to the guy in a red polo shirt with the company’s logo on it. 

“Is that one of our carts?”

He shook his head, “No! My family’s had it for a few years.”

Grocery Store Guy rolled his eyes, “Yeah, right. Just give it back.”

Richie insisted, “Really, we grill on it! There’s even some cheese charred on there. See!” Richie pointed to the side of the cart.

The guy was looking inside of the cart, “Sir, whose baby is that?” He looked startled.

“Oh! Mine,” Richie shrugged. “I only got him, like, two hours ago, so I don’t have any baby things for him yet. We’re going to get some now,” he said nonchalantly as he took out a rubber glove filled with water. He gave it to Princess Beyoncé, who started chewing on it.

Before Grocery Guy could even start to unpack everything Richie was saying, a man came out of the store calling for him. His nametag read ‘Manager.’

“Eddie, someone flipped all of the soup cans upside down again! I need you in here,” he shouted before marching back into the store.

Richie asked curiously, “Who would do that?”

“Oh. Me,” Eddie shrugged.

“But why?”

“I don’t know. I work at a grocery store, I get bored.” 

“Eddie!” The manager called again.

Eddie looked at Richie again, “Just… Promise me that is your baby.”

“He’s mine. I swear,” Richie squinted in the sunlight.

-

Bill answered the phone and looked to Bev, “It’s Rich.”

“Well what’s going on?” Stan asked.

“He says he needs a ride. The cart got stolen while he was in the pawn shop,” Bill continued.

“Damn,” Ben sighed. “No burgers this weekend I guess.”

Beverly rolled her eyes, “Where’s he at right now?”

-

“Richie, I don’t have time to be driving you around.”

“Bev, I have a car seat now, I can put him in my car and take him places myself,” he insisted.

“Do you even know how to strap it in?”

“Strap it in?”

Beverly’s eyes went wide, “Honey, you have to strap it in!” She parked and turned to her friend, “Grab the baby.”

He did and stood outside of the car with him. Beverly made a U-turn and Richie could see the carseat flipping onto the floor. She parked on the curb again, rolling the passenger side window down.

Richie put the baby into the backseat again, this time buckling the baby seat in as tight as he could.

Beverly rolled her window down and lit a cigarette, “Rich, you don’t know what you’re doing.”

He scoffed, “I’m learning. I got a book at the pawn shop and it says that you can’t smoke around the baby.”

“I’m in the front seat. He’s not anywhere near the smoke anyways. Besides, my mother smoked while she was  _ pregnant  _ with me and I’m fine,” Bev flicked her ashes out the window.

“Bev, you know I think you’re perfect, but you do have physical flaws.”

Beverly narrowed her eyes at him. Richie was on thin fucking ice. She blew her smoke outside, “If you want a ride home from me, the only other person in the house with a car, you’d better shut up before you even start.”

He sat back in his seat and they drove home in silence.

-

Stan held the baby while Richie took the things he bought out of Bev’s trunk.

Princess Beyoncé giggled as Stan cooed at him, bouncing slightly up and down, “You just have the coolest name ever! Yes you do! Bumpuhdum!” He babbled.

Richie led them back to his bedroom, carrying the pieces of the crib he needed to build later, not wanting to be away from his son for a minute.

“What are you going to feed him?” Stan asked.

“I still have to go to the grocery store. I’ll take him with me, I just needed to unload this stuff first.”

Stan starts sniffing the air, trying to find the source of something he just caught a whiff of. He lifted the baby up, smelling it. He gagged a little, “Rich, your baby stinks.”

He stood from the bed, bringing Princess Beyoncé toward Richie. He took his son and laid him down on the bed. He took his onesie off and opened his diaper.

-

“I need paper towels! I need paper towels! I need paper towels!” Richie shrieked through the house.

Bill put down his playing cards, “What’s going on?”

“We threw up on the baby!” Richie cried, running to his bedroom with an armful of towels that he ripped from the roll in the kitchen.

Ben and Beverly continued to play Go Fish, Beverly sighing, “Figure it out!” She looked up at Ben, “If Richie wants to raise a child, he needs to be able to think on his feet,” she said as she got up. “But I may as well just go run a bath for… Princess Beyoncé.”

Ben nodded. He knew that, as stressed about this baby as Bev was, she couldn’t help loving him, at least a little bit.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trying to make the chapters longer! writing is hard!


	5. i can tell that we are going to be friends

Richie fluffed his baby’s hair with a towel after his bath. He still hadn’t gotten diapers for Princess Beyoncé, _ God, we need to change that name,  _ so he cut two leg holes in a shower cap and put one of Beverly’s menstrual pads inside of it. He hoped he would get this trip done before it was time for his kid to poop again.

While his baby laid on the bed, watching the glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the ceiling, Richie dug in his bedside drawer for a pen and notepad. He flipped through his guide, _ The Baby Bible: The Guide That Virgin Mary Wishes She Had, _ trying to find a list of a baby’s must-haves. The book was published quite a few years ago, but it was the least expensive one at the pawn shop. He just hopes it’s still accurate.

Finally, he flips to chapter 7, page 139.

**_Chapter 7- So where do I start?_ **

**Well, your baby needs a few things. First of all: Food. Depending on your child’s age, they need different sources of nutrients. The easiest way to tell what food you need to buy is by looking at the labels. Most formulas and food jars will state the intended age of consumers. For more information on your child’s eating habits, go to chapter four.**

Richie was  _ not  _ flipping to chapter four. He was confused enough already.

**Another essential is diapers and wipes. Once again, the size you need should line up with any charts for weight and height written on the packaging. As for wipes, you may need to purchase fragrance-free if your baby has sensitive skin.**

_ Did Princess Beyoncé have sensitive skin? _ Richie had no clue.  _ How can you tell? _

The book carried on about lotions and soaps and clothes, “We can worry about that stuff tomorrow, huh, Buddy?” Richie looked at his new best friend, who was eating his foot voraciously. He scribbled down everything he needed tonight onto his paper.

Just as he was going to close the book, the words at the bottom of the next page caught his eye.

**Most importantly: love your baby and care for it in the best way that you can. It’s not a bad thing to ask for help or admit that you need improvement.**

He closed the book and tore his paper out of his notebook, folding it up and putting it into his pocket. He took a deep breath and picked his baby up. He smelled his clean hair and kissed his forehead, looking into the eyes that looked so much like his did when he looked in the mirror, “I’m always going to love you with everything I’ve got.”

-

Bill knew that Richie needed this baby as much as he needed all of his friends, as much as his friends needed him. He saw how much Rich had changed in only a few hours. Stuff that Richie had saved his pennies up for, stuff he cherished, everything he thought he couldn’t be without a few days ago-- sold in a heartbeat for his baby.

Bill was incredibly proud. He could tell that everyone loved the baby, even if they weren’t ready to be okay with that yet. Beverly would deny it if asked, but her eyes lit up at the sight of the little guy. Ben wasn’t sure what to do with him yet. Stan thought he was already the funniest kid in the world, and he couldn’t even talk yet. And for Bill? It felt like he was finally getting the baby brother he always wanted as a child.

-

Richie strapped the baby’s car-seat into the car while Bill showed him the flowers in front yard; the petunias were the favorite of both Bill and Princess Beyoncé, the first enjoying the smell and the latter enjoying how fun it was to bat at it.

He double-checked his pockets for his car keys, his wallet, and his list. He found all three and accepted his baby back from Bill. It took him a minute or two to figure out how to strap him in, but the buckles snapped together with a click.  _ This is just another one of the things I’ll have to get the hang of with time. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the chapters are very short, but i'm just not very good at scene transitions haha. this is so much fun to write so far and I hope my writing gets better with time :). also, I keep hinting at princess beyonces new name and I hope everyone is happy with it lol. I know that his current name already kicks ass, but I had a new one in my mind before I even started writing.


	6. i'm just playin (i didn't mean to say that)

-

It’s not that Richie wasn’t smart. He was, really! But when it came to the baby aisle at the grocery store- he was clueless.  _ What’s the difference between these brands? Does he need a bib when he has a bottle? How do I know when he starts teething? _

“Oh! Hey, it’s you again.”

He looked over to see Eddie, the grocery store guy from a few hours ago, stocking the shelves of diapers.

“You got a car seat.”

Richie smiled, “Yeah. It’s used, though.”

“By who? Shakespeare?”

Oh, Richie  _ liked  _ him. His smile grew impossibly bigger, “By your mom, actually.”

Eddie stopped for a second, tried to hold back his smile. And, because he couldn’t find a better comeback, “Fuck off dude.”

So far, he’d put up with Richie’s annoying bullshit, which was honestly the least he could do for him. Eddie’s day had been agonizingly boring before Richie had shown up. 

“Is there any way you could help me out with this?” He adjusted his glasses and looked at the overwhelming amount of choices again.

“Sure. Do you have any questions in particular?” He asked, continuing to put boxes on the shelf.

Richie shrugged, already embarrassed by the words he hadn’t even spoken yet, “Well… Yes, but I don’t want to seem stupid.”

Eddie shook his head, “I’m sure it’s not stupid. What is it?”

“So, the diapers. This box has a girl on the front and that one has a boy on the front. Is that pointless or is there a reason he shouldn’t use these… particular… diapers?” He asked, looking again at the diapers that the employee was stocking.

There was a pause where Eddie thought for a second. He looked over to the guy with the baby. Finally, he came up with a response, “That is actually a really great question.” The guy looking to him smiled. Eddie continued, “The gender of the babies doesn’t matter, as long as you only show him the ones with girls on the box. Otherwise, your baby will grow up gay. And a democrat.”

That’s when Richie realized that he  _ really  _ liked this guy. He laughed because Eddie laughed first.

Eddie said when they were done laughing, “That wasn’t a homophobic joke, by the way. I don’t want you to think I’m homophobic. I also don’t want you to think it’s okay with me if you’re homphobic.”

Richie looked at him, smiling softly, “You’re good, man.”

-

Sometimes, Richie was afraid that everyone hated his jokes and all he was was annoying. Actually, he worried about it every day. Maybe it was how everyone else felt all the time too, but if it was, he didn’t notice.

Making Eddie laugh made him feel good. Sure, it was nice when people liked his jokes at a gig. At his gigs, though, everyone was tipsy and everything was hysterical. With Eddie, he seemed like a tough crowd. He didn’t even know Eddie, like, at all. But somehow it felt like a reward when he saw his smile. He was just… Cute. That’s all.

-

“Guys! I’m home,” Richie hollered from the front doorway. Bev and Stan were playing GoFish. Bill was probably showering or some shit. Ben was looking in the DVD cabinet, so he was closest to Richie as he walked inside. He immediately passed his baby to Ben, before turning around and grabbing everything he bought out of the back seat. He’d only spent around forty dollars, but he knew that he’d have to get some more stuff tomorrow.

He plopped everything in the dining room with the plan to put it away in its proper spot later. He looked at the clock,remembering what the book said about the importance of having a consistent bedtime schedule.  _ 6:00 is a good place to start. _

“Well, I’m going to bring PB to bed now. Deal me in the next hand?”

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lil bit of reddie mwah
> 
> I wanted to do the grocery store scene about the packaging of the baby food, but I still wanted to change it up a little bit, so this is what i came up with lol. not as funny as in Raising Hope, but its fine WHATEVER ya know.


	7. how could i not love you?

“We ate, you cried. We bounced, you cried. We cuddled, you cried. We have done everything, and you still cry. Baby just wants to cry. I can’t blame you, I’m starting to wanna cry too,” Richie sighed from deep within his soul. He’s been trying to get his baby to sleep for nine hours. Rich had never done anything for that long before. Frankly, he didn’t think it was possible. He tried every single thing he could think of. Some of the time, he’d just sat there wide awake. Other times, he was _so close_ to falling asleep. But a lot of the time, he’d been crying.

Not only was this the most frustrating task that Richie had ever been given, it was also the most heartbreaking. His poor baby was crying his lungs out for _hours_ , needing something, and Richie just sat there feeling useless. Maybe Beverly was right about this whole thing. His baby might be happier with other people. They could decipher his cries and buy him new stuff from the baby store. Richie had never even seen a baby store in this area.

Ben had knocked on the door to Richie’s bedroom hours ago, mentioning that he had a meeting tomorrow. Bill and Stan came through the front door at one in the morning, giggling about a party and then going into the tent. Bev just looked at Richie with a knowing look before she went to bed.

His best friends filled the house and his own child was in his arms, so why did he feel like he was so alone? His mind kept going in circles. He wanted more than anything to be a somewhat-decent dad to his baby, but if he was going to feel like this, he didn’t know if he could take it. His eyes were about to water over when Beverly opened his bedroom door brashly, holding a guitar in one hand and tugging a shirtless Bill behind her gently with her other hand.

She sits on the edge of Richie’s bed, right in front of the crib. Bill sat against the wall at the head of the bed, tuning the guitar. The baby’s cries slowed slightly from the distraction before picking back up again.

" _People smile and tell me I’m the lucky one,_ " she starts singing before looking to Richie and whispering, “My Mawmaw used to sing this to me.” She smiled and rubbed the baby’s tummy, " _We’ve just begun. I think I’m gonna have a son._ " She turned to Richie again, “Dim the lights.”

Richie could almost see Bev’s grandmother holding her after a nightmare or during a thunderstorm, comforting her by singing until she fell back asleep. He never really had his own grandma to cling to and he misses seeing Nell every day.

" _He will be like he and me, as free as a dove. Conceived in love. The sun is gonna shine_ above."

A weight immediately lifted off of Richie's shoulders. He wasn't really alone. His friends wouldn't let him be.

" _And_ _even though we ain’t got money, I’m so in love with you, Honey. Everything will bring a chain of love._ "

Things didn't have to be perfect. He didn't need to be rich. He just needed to take care of his baby as best as he could.

" _And in the morning when I rise, bring a tear of joy to my eyes and tell me everything… is gonna be alright._ "

Beverly looked to Richie, who was crying and standing in the doorway. She waved him off, continuing to hum to the baby. Bill was stretched out on Richie’s bed at that point, the guitar carefully set onto the floor.

-

The coffee was finished brewing only a few minutes ago, but the pot was already half empty.

Richie sat on the porch with his mug in hand, watching the world wake up.

Stan had his own coffee cup and went to sit next to Richie. He sat quietly and watched the birds before speaking, “What is it with you and the baby? I mean, I’ll support you either way, but why are you closed off to the idea of giving him up. No one’s going to look at you differently.”

“That’s the point. I’m tired of people looking at me like I don’t have a purpose. It sounds selfish, but I want people to look at me like my baby looks at me, you know? Like I’m someone special. And, man, I love him so much. He’s so cute and he’s smart and he’s funny. He’s a part of me. I can’t give it up,” he looked at Stanley, one of his best friends.

As he continued, all of his other friends funneled out of the house to sit together on the front porch, “This is the chance for me to do something good. This is a chance for all of us to do something good.”

Everyone sat and let the words brew in their tired minds for a moment. Ben looked around, “Well what are we going to name him? I’m sorry, I’m just not going to live with people who let a child be given such a name for his whole life.”

Stan scoffed, “Fuck off, dude, Princess Beyoncé is awesome.”

“Well let’s all give ideas and see what we like best for him,” Beverly said, always the voice of reason.

Nobody said anything.

“Really? Nothing?”

Bill spoke up, “W-well I alw-ways kinda l-liked the name… Georgie.”

They all looked at him. _Perfect_.

Richie grinned from ear to ear, “Georgie it is.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you love pb's new name as much as I do <3 mwah


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So when she and Richie walked into the grocery store on the tenth morning morning of living with a baby, she got a feeling she had forgotten about.

“So how are you going to keep paying for all this stuff?” Bev asked Richie as he made a list of what to buy.

Richie sighed, “Well I still have around fifty from the pawn shop last week. After that, I’m not sure.”

Stan plucked Georgie out of his baby seat that was on the kitchen table, “It’s called a job, Rich.”

“Gee, thanks Stan. I have never heard that word ever in my life. You realize I had one last year right?”

“I was kidding Rich.”

“So was I!”

“Alright fellas. That’s enough of the sparring. G’s gonna grow up thinking you’re married,” Bev interrupted.

Stanley scoffed and Richie shook his head. 

“Alright, out the door!” Ben stuck his head in the kitchen.

Beverly tossed her car keys to her boyfriend and blew him a kiss. She looked to Richie, “C’mon, your car is parked in front of mine. Let’s head out.”

-

Beverly always knew as soon as Richie got googly eyes for someone. It was like a feeling in her soul. She got the same feeling in her gut when Bill got inspired, when Stan began to despise someone, or when Ben had a bad day at work.

So when she and Richie walked into the grocery store on the tenth morning morning of living with a baby, she got a feeling she had forgotten about.

Richie settled Georgie’s car seat into the shopping cart before making a b-line for the diapers. He’d used the last one at the house early that morning. He’s still getting the hang of the whole ‘be prepared’ thing. Being a parent was hard.

Beverly went in the opposite direction. The bread aisle was shockingly bare, but her favorite was still there. The store-brand honey wheat loaf was the best bread that Bev had ever had. None of the guys at home really understood it, but whatever; they’re not the ones getting of their butts to buy food.

Oh shit. Why did they move my bread up to the top shelf? It was a Wednesday morning and there wasn’t an employee in sight. There was one person that she knew was at the store and she also knew that he would be able to reach her bread. Richie. She sighed and began her walk all the way across the store.

-

Richie was looking for Georgie’s size diapers, but they definitely weren’t in the same spot they were in last time. Not only had his necessity seemingly vanished, but his baby had also started crying.

It still hurt to hear his child cry and he didn’t think that feeling would ever go away. He picked him up and rocked him and talked to him and became so intent on helping his kid, he didn’t notice someone walking over. That is, until that certain someone said hey and nearly scared Richie shitless.

“Is there something you’re looking for?” Eddie asked after laughing at Richie.

Richie smiled from ear to ear, “Oh! Um, yeah. I need the 0-3 months sized diapers and I can’t find him anywhere.” He bounced the baby gently and looked to Eddie with pleading eyes.

Eddie nodded and gave him a knowing smile, “Yeah management is making us move everything around for no reason,” Eddie began to whisper, his smile still making Richie’s stomach twirl, “I secretly think that it’s because people keep falling asleep on the job and they’re trying to keep us on our feet.”

Richie giggled like a kid, “I’ve been there. Once, when I worked at a movie theater, I fell asleep in an open spot underneath the counter.”

“I’m gonna take a wild guess and assume that you didn’t work there much longer after that.”

Richie laughed again, “Yeah you’re right about that, but not because of the sleep thing. The real reason has to do with a particularly rude customer, a bag of popcorn, and a handful of ice cubes.”

Eddie raised his eyebrows and smiled. He noticed how close he’d stepped toward Richie while they were talking and he awkwardly backed away a couple feet. Richie was blushing and Eddie was going crazy. It took him nearly ten seconds to remember what they were discussing until he looked around at where they were standing. “So... diapers!”

“Yes... yeah, so where- um. Are they?”

“Well let’s have a look-“

“Richie!” Beverly popped into the aisle with unbelievable stealth. She had definitely walked in on a moment she shouldn’t have. The four of them looked back and forth at each other. She reached out for Georgie, who didn’t seem to care or really understand what the big deal was, happily going into Bev’s waiting arms.

“Bev! What’s up?” Richie asked finally. Bev noticed his ruddy cheeks and nervous smile and she knew that this guy was the one that Rich was hoping to see.

“My bread, it’s too high up for me to get hold of...” She trailed off, looking to Eddie.

Eddie nodded, “Yeah, things are kinda getting moved around. Sorry about that.”

“Eddie this is Bev.”

“Your girlfriend?”

“Sister,” Richie corrected.

“Friend!” Beverly shook her head, “So you know Rich?”

“I’ve seen him around a couple times, helped him find stuff for the baby,” Eddie shrugged.

“Oh. Okay, cool. Well um, I just needed help with... the bread,” Bev pointed her thumb behind her.

Eddie turned toward the shelf and grabbed the diapers Richie needed. He hastily shoved the box into his arms before turning around and pulled the cart of things that needed to be restocked. “Good luck with the bread!” He waved, “If you need anything, I’m around.” He glances at Richie again and have him a soft smile. He left the aisle as quickly as he could, trying to avoid letting them see his embarrassment.

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aksjdhfkdll It’s been a while. I don’t know if anyone will read this but that’s okay! I’ve missed writing this. I forgot how much fun it was. So here’s a (hopefully decent) chapter, even though I realize it’s pretty short! Reddie! Also I’m still trying to find a good spot for Mike to fit in and have a good storyline, which I hope that I can figure out soon. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Raising Hope is one of my favorite shows ever. that's all. ok byeeeee.


End file.
